West Ship Island
Situated twelve miles South of the Mississippi mainland, West Ship Island is a barrier island with evidence of thousands of years of human contact. After Native Americans, European colonists coveted Ship Island as the only deep-water harbor in the Mississippi Sound. Later, the United States built a coastal fortification to protect the American coastline. The National Park Service acquired West Ship Island in 1971 creating Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Archaeological evidence of aboriginal visitation to West Ship Island extends thousands of years. Later, Frenchman Pierre Le Moyne Sieur d’Iberville discovered the island in 1699, naming it Isle-Vaisseux, or Ship Island. During the War of 1812, the British invaded New Orleans through the Ship Island Pass. Subsequently, in 1847 Ship Island was designated a military reservation, provided with a lighthouse, and considered worthy of a Third System fortification.
By December of 1861, the island was used as a headquarters and staging ground for federal forces. Southern prisoners of war were also brought to island after successful invasions in New Orleans and Mobile in 1865.
On December 31, 1880, the National Board of Health designated Ship Island as the first Quarantine Station in the United States and was transferred to the United States Coast Guard on November 18, 1942. The Coast Guard conducted beach patrols as result of the German U-boat threat to merchant shipping along the Gulf Coast. Permits were issued to allow soldiers from Keesler Field to utilize the station as a recreational facility until 1960.
West Ship Island is accessible by ferry from Gulfport or by private boat. Access to the island is day use only. During the spring and summer, ranger-led tours of historic Fort Massachusetts are scheduled daily. Please contact the park at 228-230-4100 or www.nps.gov/guis for more information. The ferry service can be contacted at 228-864-1014 or www.msshipisland.com.
Researched, written and submitted by Mike Doyle
West Ship Island photo taken by Mike Houck
